-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Is a woman 's virginity worth $ 3.8 million ? That 's how much a 22-year-old from San Diego , California , said she has been offered through an auction she announced in September .

Natalie Dylan , 22 , said she has put her virginity up for auction through the Moonlite Bunny Ranch .

The woman , who goes by `` Natalie Dylan , '' set up a private auction through the Moonlite Bunny Ranch , a legal brothel in Nevada . The auction has given her lots of `` business opportunities , '' she said .

Her top bid comes from a 39-year-old Australian , but she has no immediate plans to settle the auction , she said in a recent interview with CNN .

Some men may seek virgins because they want them as trophies , or desire purity . But as to why men would bid so much money on virginity , she said she has no answer .

`` I honestly do n't know what they see in it , '' she said .

If you think Dylan 's auction amounts to prostitution , she completely agrees . She also said she 's not breaking any laws -- after all , prostitution in Nevada is legal .

`` I feel people should be pro-choice with their body , and I 'm not hurting anyone , '' she said . `` It really comes down to a moral and religious argument , and this does n't go against my religion or my morals . There 's no right or wrong to this . '' Watch for more on Dylan ''

The idea that virginity has a high value harkens back to the days of early humans -- if a man has sex with a virgin woman , he knows for sure that her children will be his , anthropologists reason . In early civilizations , women were also considered the property of men , said Laura Carpenter , assistant professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee .

Through the 1950s in America , women were expected to remain virgins until marriage , Carpenter said . But with the availability of the pill and the IUD in the 1960s , combined with youth counterculture and gay rights movements , it became more common for women to engage in premarital sex , she said .

Attitudes shifted toward the conservative side in the 1980s with the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic , which made the stakes much higher for choosing a sex partner , especially for men . Abstinence-based education programs also took off around that time , with government support , she said .

Today , about 95 percent of Americans have sex before they 're 25 , Carpenter said . But worldwide , virgin prostitutes can claim larger fees , certain cultures still attach larger dowries to virgin brides , and some women undergo reconstructive surgery to restore their hymens .

In looking at Dylan 's auction , `` To some extent it 's not new . The new part is the Internet , '' Carpenter said .

Dylan is not the first to hold a public sale for her sexual innocence . An Italian model reportedly had plans to sell her virginity for more than $ 1 million in September . Dylan said she was inspired by a report of a Peruvian woman who put her virginity up for sale .

Some think Dylan 's auction may be indicative of a shift in the way society treats sexuality .

`` In a world that is teeming with brand messages , with sponsorships everywhere , intimacy is really just the next thing to go , '' said Jon Ray , a 24-year-old marketing consultant in Austin , Texas , and author of the blog Who is Jon Ray ?

Brett Austin Vanderzee , a 19-year-old student at Oklahoma Christian University who has pledged to stay a virgin until marriage , finds Dylan 's actions somewhat appalling , but not shocking .

`` It 's kind of crazy , but I think it 's the general direction that society has been heading in for a while , '' he said . `` We 're becoming more accepting of things that normally would have been considered unwise . ''

Kiara Daines , a 17-year-old from Detroit , Michigan , said she 's saving herself until marriage for personal and religious reasons . Both Vanderzee and Daines said they have endured teasing from their peers because of their choice to remain abstinent .

Others say there 's just too much hype around virginity . Martha Kempner , vice president for information and communications for the nonprofit Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. , said telling a young woman to stay `` pure '' misses the point that sexuality will influence her long after she loses her virginity .

`` By putting the emphasis there , -LSB- on virginity -RSB- , we 're actually devaluing the rest of women , the rest of her , and the rest of her sexuality for the rest of her life , '' she said .

A recent study in the journal Pediatrics showed that religious teens who take virginity pledges are as likely to have sex before marriage as their religious peers , and less likely to use condoms or birth control when they become sexually active .

Many people say losing one 's virginity has different implications for men than women . While young women see the act as a symbolic giving of themselves , young men are more prone to want to get it over with and brag about it . Similarly , says Kempner , women are taught to keep themselves `` pure '' and help men exercise control , while there 's a `` boys will be boys '' attitude around men .

Do men really think that virginity is worth millions of dollars ?

Audacia Ray , a 28-year-old former sex worker from New York and author of `` Naked on the Internet : Hookups , Downloads and Cashing In on Internet Sexploration , '' is skeptical . She views Dylan 's auction as a publicity stunt and does n't anticipate she 'll `` continue in the industry . ''

The importance of a woman 's virginity may vary in different cultures , but generally there 's not the high value there used to be , Ray said .

`` It begins to be viewed more as a burden over time -- a burden in that losing virginity is an event , so that it has to somehow mean something , which is part of the reason why people are all up in arms about Natalie , '' she said .

How do Dylan 's friends and family feel ? Dylan , who said she was raised in a conservative , non-Christian religious household , said although her mother does n't agree with her , she still loves her as a daughter . Generally people have been supportive , Dylan said .

`` I 've talked with my exes , some different guys , and they understand it 's just a business deal , and they know me , and they know I 'm not this promiscuous girl . Honestly , even if I did n't do this , I 'd always be the girl who thinks prostitution is OK , '' she said . `` I would always want to find a partner that can accept me for me . ''

@highlight

Natalie Dylan has put her virginity up for auction ; says top bid is $ 3.8 million

@highlight

Idea that virginity has high value not new , professor says

@highlight

Men and women have different standards for losing virginity , some say

@highlight

Others say there 's just too much hype around virginity